1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a local area network-coupled telephone system and method. More particularly, the present invention describes a self-configuring local area network phone system for use in Ethernet networks.
2. Description of the Related Art
The use of local area networks (LAN) to support telephone systems has become increasingly popular as the speed available on the LAN have increased. It is not uncommon to find current Ethernet based networks capable of data rates from 100 Mbits/sec to 1000 Mbits/sec (1 Gbit/sec). This has made it more practical to integrate digitized voice traffic onto these networks without impacting the main data traffic also flowing on the network. In many companies and organizations, most users have computer systems connected into a LAN system. Traditionally, these users have a telephone line connected to their office as well. The costs associated with maintaining both LAN and telephone wiring systems can be reduced if either the LAN system or the telephone wiring system is eliminated. Because the networking requirements of most office computers cannot be met by traditional phone networks, this means that the telephone wiring system should be eliminated and the telephone system should operate over the LAN. Benefits of this arrangement include the use of the existing LAN wiring, easy expandability for new users, potentially increased functionality, and reduced cost.
One system in which a telephone system operates over a LAN includes a Personal Computer (PC) connected to the LAN and having an interface module for connecting to an analog telephone. A disadvantage of such a system is that the user must have a PC on and operating to use his phone. Additionally, connecting multiple phones to the LAN requires a hub device. The disadvantage of the required hub device is that a secondary wiring system connecting each analog phone to the hub must be supplied, in addition to the LAN. This reduces the cost effectiveness of LAN-based communication.
Another system that is available uses telephone units connected directly to the LAN via Ethernet connections, but requires a central controller, also connected to the LAN, to manage all call traffic. The central controller, which has an interface to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), supports only a limited number of call stations. Multiple controllers can be interconnected to increase the capacity of the system, but at increased cost.
For the smaller office, the above systems are still too complex and expensive. Many small office organizations cannot afford the dedicated Information Technology (IT) support necessary to set up and operate these systems. Even larger organizations can benefit from a system of reduced complexity that benefits from greatly reduced startup and configuration time periods. Therefore, there is a need for a LAN-based phone system that is lower in overall cost, is faster to setup and configure, and requires less IT support, than the above-described systems.